BREAKING NEWS: South Sudan Peace deal signed today…. A Return to Full-scale War sooner!!

Breaking News: South Sudan Peace Deal Signed Today – but Fails to Address Federalism, Corruption and other important issues pended in Khartoum that are the root causes of the perpetual conflict and division among South Sudanese politico-military groups.

September 12, 2018 will be remembered as a day the people of South Sudan have again been betrayed…yet again by fellow Africans (IGAD) and the World. Cynically, it must be recalled that in 1972, the Addis Ababa Agreement between the South Sudan and Arab Khartoum was signed in the same venue but it was finally abrogated by the Arabs.

The peace deal signed today in Addis Ababa between the government of South Sudan and armed opposition groups has significant flaws. In fact, just before the peace was signed today, it was reported the Kiir’s government forces attacked Machar’s SPLA-IO forces in Yei River State of Central Equatoria Region near the borders of Uganda.

Disappointingly, those of Riek Machar of the SPLM/A-IO and the Lam Akol’s and Changson’s of the so-called South Sudan Opposition Alliance (SSOA) have clearly in broad daylight proven that they are simply spineless and mindless of their unforgivable betrayal of the people of South Sudan.

Bravo to those of Dr. Dario Hakim of the PDM and General Thomas Cirillo of the NAS and others who steadfastly and rightly objected to the fake and dangerous peace deal that is an impending and delayed disaster in waiting.

Furthermore, this new peace deal will be monitored by Arab Sudan and Museveni’s Uganda, both of whom are great beneficiaries of this peace deal (more than the people of South Sudan), as well as the being the main benefactors and supporters of president Kiir of South Sudan.

They are all complicit with killer president Salva Kiir in their participation and destruction of the nation and they all will be made to account on the day of reckoning.

Most importantly, the IGAD Council of Ministers in its meeting in Addis Ababa this afternoon nullified the five reservations expressed previously by the warring parties and instead adopted the peace document initialled in Khartoum.

This agreement failed to address the looting done by South Sudan leaders of state resources and revenues.

The five reservations pended in the Agreement are the following:
1- Federalism… which is the preferred system of governance in the country.
2- Number of States… that would be established in the country, that’s a drastic reduction in the current unsustainable number of states established by dictator Kiir.
3- Referendum demand by others that must be carried out before the pre-interim period.
4- Establishment of a Commission to look into the number of states that are to be established.
5- Accountability for war crimes committed etc….

Inevitably, these shortcomings by these capricious and selfish so-called ‘leaders’ could easily lead the country right back to yet another full-scale war.

John Prendergast, Founding Director of the Enough Project and Co-Founder of The Sentry, said: “Today’s peace deal lacks meaningful checks and balances on a presidency that already wields immense powers, which are primarily used to loot the country’s resources and deploy extreme violence against opponents. South Sudan’s vast oil revenues have been pocketed by high-level politicians and their families and carted out of the country.

This new peace deal fails to undo the theft of government revenue by entrusting the same corrupt politicians without any meaningful checks and balances.”

Brian Adeba, Deputy Director of Policy at the Enough Project, said: “This peace deal is simply a division of the spoils between the rival factions with the biggest guns.

The signed agreement reinforces the status quo and increases the odds of a full-fledged return to war, in its failure to address state capture by these politicians or reform in hijacked institutions.

The U.S. and other willing nations should impose sanctions and anti-money laundering measures on the networks of South Sudanese officials and their commercial collaborators who continue to loot the country’s resources and to deny them access to the international banking system.”

Nonetheless, the new Kiir-Machar & SSOA Agreement apparently resolved these four outstanding issues as follows:–

1- On the issue of the States, Annex D was reinstated.

2- The Quorum in the Council of Ministers shall continue as 23 provided that at least six (6) of them are from the Opposition.

3- Permanent Constitution making process: Articles 6.7 – 6.9 are deleted and replaced with the following provisions:
6-7. During the 4th month of the Transitional Period, a Workshop shall be convened for the
Parties to agree on the details of conducting the constitution process.
6.8. The Workshop shall be moderated and facilitated by an institute renowned
internationally for constitution making.

4- The issue of deployment of the RPF shall be handled through the engagement of IGAD and the UN Security Council.